Burnham has formed a new UK government: who received key positions in the cabinet of ministers
Kyiv • UNN
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary. Louise Haigh has received three key positions, coordinating the work of the government.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has begun forming a new cabinet, promising to deliver "the biggest changes in 40 years." This was reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.
Details
Burnham made his first personnel decisions after a series of resignations by key members of Keir Starmer's government. In particular, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Business Secretary Peter Kyle, Housing Secretary Steve Reed, and several other officials left their posts.
Who received key positions
The most unexpected decision was the appointment of 66-year-old John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The former Defense Secretary replaced Rachel Reeves in this position, who became the first female Chancellor in UK history.
Healey left the Ministry of Defense just six weeks ago due to a dispute with the Treasury over defense spending. Now he will have to find additional funding to increase the defense budget to 3% of GDP by 2030 and fulfill NATO commitments to raise spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
The Home Office will continue to be headed by 45-year-old Shabana Mahmood. She retained her position after the personnel changes. Bloomberg notes that Mahmood was one of the authors of the government's stricter migration policy, which makes it more difficult for refugees and low-paid migrants to obtain permanent residency.
The position of Foreign Secretary was given to former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. Previously, he headed the Ministry of Energy and was considered one of the main contenders for the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
According to Bloomberg, Miliband's appointment to the Foreign Office opens up an opportunity for Burnham to review the previous government's environmental policy, particularly regarding oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.
Louise Haigh became one of the most influential figures in the new government
One of the Prime Minister's closest allies became Louise Haigh, who received three positions at once – First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office.
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In effect, she will coordinate the work of government departments and interaction between them.
Before this, Haigh worked as Transport Secretary, but at the end of 2024 she left the government after publicity surrounding her long-standing fraud conviction.
Cooper headed the Ministry of Health
The Ministry of Health was headed by Yvette Cooper, who previously served as Foreign Secretary.
Among her main tasks are reducing waiting lists in the National Health Service (NHS) and reforming the social security system, which Andy Burnham called one of the priorities of the new government.
According to Bloomberg, the formation of the new Cabinet of Ministers is ongoing, and the list of appointments may be expanded in the near future.
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